Scattered Message
by Sendo Sheng
Summary: Doubt and trust, two key things to a relationship. One may destroy it while the other may sustain it. What will occur between two that must face these two things?


Scattered Message

* * *

"…I'm sorry."

He looked at her in a daze at what just happened. Did they just break up? His usual self composure and calm was all destroyed as the weight of what happened finally hit him. And all he could muster was a single word, "Why?"

"I don't know Xiang… I-I can't explain it…"

"Please Mei. Why can't you tell me?"

"Because I don't know!" she snapped. He backed away from her, not afraid of her but afraid of her words. Each second that passed hurt his heart, and with each word she spoke, he felt like his heart would break.

"I'm sorry Xiang. I love you but… I just can't bear it anymore…"

Despite the fear he felt, he had to ask, "B-bear what?"

"I can't tell you…" she said reluctantly.

With that last sentence, Xiang felt like his heart would shatter at any moment. He slowly backed away as tears slowly began to fill his eyes. He turned from her and left the room in haste, ignoring the fact that a storm was raging outside. He ran, not knowing where he would go to but he didn't believe… couldn't believe… wouldn't believe…

Mei stared at the ground and then collapsed onto her knees. She raised her hands to cover her eyes as a stream of tears began to emerge. She cried as she felt the pain come onto her as well. Her doubt wouldn't alleviate itself from her and in the last moments, it took over as it destroyed one of the most important things to her.

* * *

Almost on instinct, he ran to the one person he could rely on, his gege. He knocked on the door weakly as his head hanged in front of his body. After a few moments the door opened and in that doorway stood Yao, holding a wok in one hand and his other holding onto the door.

"Aiyah! Xiang! What are you doing? Going into the rain like that, are you crazy! ~aru."

Xiang weakly lifted his head and Yao's eyes grew wide in shock. Xiang's eyes were deeply sullen and he looked extremely pale. "Xiang?" uttered Yao.

"Yao-ge…" Xiang then leaned forward and collapsed in front of his older brother.

Yao dropped his wok, spilling its contents onto the floor but he completely ignored it as he lunged forward catching his brother. "Xiang!"

It was late into the morning when Xiang opened his eyes. His body ached all over but he then remembered what happened. Mei broke up with him. He turned his head slightly and saw his brother lying on the side of the bed, sitting in a chair. Xiang assumed that he must've watched over him through the night. Lifting his hand weakly, he slightly nudged him. In a split second, Yao opened his eyes and got up.

"Xiang! Are you alright? What happened? Are you hurt? ~aru"

"I'm not sure how I feel Yao-ge. I-I… it hurts."

"What hurts? ~aru"

Xiang moved his hand over his chest and clutched it tightly. "It feels like it's breaking Yao-ge. I-I don't know what to do…" Tears began to overflow in his eyes.

"Xiang… please, explain what happened ~aru"

"Mei… we…broke up."

"What! What happened? ~aru"

"I don't know. It happened so fast. We were in the living room and she said she needed to tell me something. Before I knew it, she said she wanted to end our relationship. B-but she couldn't tell me why…"

Yao moved his hands and gently wiped the tears that ran down his brother's face. He felt useless, but worst than that, he felt like he couldn't do anything for his precious younger brother. The brother that came back to him compared to his other "siblings" that left him, hated him or annoyed him. He wanted to be a good older brother to Xiang but right now, he couldn't do anything for him besides being there for him and he couldn't even do that right now. Xiang's heart was breaking and he couldn't do anything for it.

"It's okay Xiang. Rest now, try and forget about it for now… ~aru"

"B-but I can't Yao-ge. It hurts too much… and I still love her."

Yao placed a reassuring hand on Xiang's cheek. "It'll be okay Xiang. Just rest for now. We'll figure things out. ~aru"

Xiang nodded slightly and closed his eyes, returning to sleep. Yao grabbed a tissue and gently wiped the rest of the tears that coated Xiang's face. He got up from his seat and quietly exited his brother's room. Making sure to close the door silently. As soon as the door was closed he let out the longest sigh he ever had but something that overwhelmed that was anger and sadness. He couldn't believe that his brother was in such pain. Even if he couldn't get answers, he would. Yao went over to his closet and grabbed a coat. Quickly placing it on, he ran out the door, intending to get the answers that his brother couldn't.

* * *

Mei lied quietly in her bed as the sun rose. Her eyes were swollen and puffy from crying all night. Her door bell was rung but she didn't budge from her bed. The ringing continued until finally she couldn't ignore it any longer and she dragged herself out of her bed. She managed to reach the door and opened it, not bothering to check who it was. In front of her stood Kiku. Mei just remembered that she was supposed to meet with him today but she really wasn't in a condition to be able to talk.

Kiku immediately noticed Mei's condition and a worried look appeared on his face. "Mei? What happened to you?"

"It's nothing Kiku-nii. Please come in." Mei remembered all the lessons that Kiku had taught her. Despite her condition, she got herself to still remember those things he taught her. To be a proper woman, and treat her guests with as much respect as they deserved. She went over to her couch and sat down, relaxing into the soft surface.

"Mei, you can't lie to me. There's something wrong and you're not telling me what it is."

"Fine Kiku-nii. You win. I'll tell you. Xiang…I broke up with him…"

"What? Why would you do that? I thought you loved him?"

"I-I do but…"

"But what?"

"I was… I was afraid!"

"What do you mean? Did he do something?" he asked quietly.

"It's not that! It-It's just; I was afraid what could happen. I've loved him for the longest time now and we've only been dating for about six months but he was my best friend before that. I was afraid that if something happened to our relationship then that would ruin our friendship."

"That's understandable but are you sure this was the best way?"

"I don't know! I allowed my doubt to get to me. I was always afraid… I know I'm not the perfect person to be with. I'm hyper, clumsy and loud a lot of the time. But Xiang… he-he looked past all of that. He loved me despite all those faults. I don't know why…"

"You need to fix this then."

"I want to. I really do but I'm afraid at what I've done. What if he doesn't want to be with me anymore? I hurt him… I'm horrible Kiku-nii."

"I'm sure you can fix this."

"But Kiku-nii, I still have that insecurity with me. You should have known how it feels, with you and Heracles. You two were best friends before you started dating. How did you look past this feeling?"

"I just trusted him Mei. Sure I was scared at what could happen but he never allowed it to happen. I trust him and he makes me happy, I love him Mei."

"What have I done then…? But I can't go to him. He would probably be hurt by the mere sight of me. It'd be better if I didn't."

"Mei…"

"Please Kiku-nii. Just go. I'm sorry about the meeting but I can't do it today. Please lock the door when you leave." Mei then got up and quietly went back to her room, collapsing onto her bed.

Kiku let out a deep sigh and exited her house. As he walked down her driveway, he saw Yao marching towards the house, with a determined and angry look plastered onto his face. Kiku then walked up to Yao and he stopped.

"Kiku, get out of my way ~aru," he demanded.

"Yao, hold on. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to demand an answer from Mei right now. Do you have any idea what she did to Xiang? ~aru"

"I talked to her Yao. Please, don't bother her; she isn't in a very good condition. She looked like she was barely holding herself together. If you want answers, I'll tell you."

Yao seemed to believe him and they began to walk to a park. "Okay. Start talking ~aru"

Kiku proceeded to explaining what Mei had told him. About her insecurities and her fear. After Kiku finished his explanation, Yao's anger seemed to dissipate but it was replaced with a saddened one.

"Aiyah. What are they going to do? ~aru."

"I don't know. You should at least tell Xiang. I think he deserves to know."

"I'll do that. Thanks for telling me ~aru"

"It's nothing. They deserve to be happy. They love each other that is for sure."

"Well, I need to go back and check up on Xiang. See you later Kiku."

"Sayonara Yao." Bidding their farewells, the two returned to their respective homes.

Yao slowly entered his home, not a sound was made throughout it. Yao became slightly worried and ran over to Xiang's room, his footsteps creating a slight echo in the silent house. When he opened the room door, he saw Xiang, still asleep but it was far from being a peaceful slumber. Xiang looked increasingly distressed as he slept but to Yao, it was better than him worrying about it awake and crying his eyes out.

Yao braced himself because he would have to wake Xiang and tell him of what he learned. He went over to his bedside and gently shook him. Xiang opened his eyes softly and looked at his older brother. "Xiang…I know why she broke up with you. Please try and keep yourself together while I explain this ~aru."

Xiang looked surprised at first but nodded in response. Yao breathed in deeply as he readied himself. Without another moment's hesitation, he began to explain what had happened. What Kiku had told him and what Mei told to Kiku. When Yao finished, Xiang immediately rose from his bed but clutched his heart in pain.

"Xiang, take it easy ~aru"

"I can't Yao-ge. It may hurt but I have to respond. I have to."

"Even if you have to, you're in no condition to be moving around ~aru."

"B-but…"

"No ~aru. You have to get better first. You collapsing again won't solve anything ~aru"

Xiang lied back down onto his bed, grudgingly. Yao seemed satisfied for now and left Xiang alone with his thoughts, wanting to make the boy some food. He realized his brother was right but every moment that passed by, Mei was still in pain and even though he knew the truth now, he was in pain as well. It seemed as though they were connected to each other, they shared their happiness with one another and they could feel each other's feelings. And right now, he could feel her pain.

Xiang turned his head over on his pillow and stared out of his window as the birds began to fly by. All of a sudden, an idea popped into his head. He knew that seeing her like this would only bring them pain but he would leave her a message but he had to make sure she wouldn't just ignore it if she saw it. He slowly brought himself out of his bed and went over to his old desk, praying that he still had some paper left over. It would seem as if luck was on his side as he found an old unopened pack of clean white paper ready for use. He placed the paper on his desk and began his project. Even in his current state, he would finish this with as much skill as he could muster and make sure he wrote everything he felt onto another sheet.

* * *

It was late into the evening when Mei finally decided to put something inside her belly. She got out of her bed and went over to her kitchen. Not wanting to burn the house down with the state she was in, she decided to eat some of the leftover fried rice Xiang made for her the night before…they broke up. She went to her refrigerator and took out the bowl of rice, still tightly sealed. She then went over and popped the bowl into her microwave and set the time. The machine went off and began to warm her dinner.

She then looked over to her living room when she noticed something that wasn't there from this morning. She slowly walked into her living room and walked over to the table in front of her couch. There sitting on the table was a swan made from paper. It was entirely white, excluding the edges of the wings which were lined with red. She went over and picked up the origami and when she picked it up, there was a single red triangle that was hidden from her, sitting on the table. She placed the swan back down and picked up the triangle. She then proceeded to unfold the triangle and she was surprised to see what was written on it. _Xiang_

She placed the piece of unfolded paper back down on the table and looked at the swan once more. Going with a hunch, she began to remove the red triangles that lined the swan's wings. She realized that they were just extra attachments to the bird and began to unfold all of them. Unfortunately, all the pieces of paper had words on them but she couldn't tell where they went. She then sighed at the lost, deciding she would go eat instead. She went back to the microwave and opened the bowl, filling the air with the scent of fried rice. She began to eat from the bowl, savoring the taste, realizing that the flavor didn't diminish when it was eaten fresh a few nights ago.

She walked back into the living room, sitting down on the couch as she stared at the scatter pieces of red paper. Placing the bowl down, she wanted to give the puzzle another chance. She felt as if she had to solve it. Without another moment's hesitation she piled all the sheets together, counting thirty-one pieces. As if by magic, she began to easily assemble the pieces together. Each fitted perfectly with the one it was meant to be next to, completing the sentences that were once unreadable. She completed the letter and began to read the message inscrolled onto it.

_Dear Mei,_

_I heard about why you broke up with me. And I'm just here to tell you, that it doesn't matter to me. Remember when we promised each other we'd be best friends forever? I'm not sure if you remember but I do. I'll always be your friend, no matter what. Even in this situation, I still think about you. And even if you don't love me the way I love you, I don't care. I'll always love you. Those faults that you're always so worried about, they don't matter to me, they make you who you are and that's what I like about you. You can always ignore those faults and move forward with that amazing smile of yours. So please, don't cry anymore, show that smile of yours that makes you, you. Remember, I'll always be by your side, and I'll always love you, as a friend and the one most precious to me._

_Love,… _

Tears began to drip down her face but she then realized that the paper was missing a piece. She looked over to the first sheet she unfolded and placed it in its proper place, completing the message. She smiled and stood up from her seat. She had to go see him, now. Not worrying about the night, she ran out of her house, not paying real attention to the fact that it was pitch black outside. She then ran into something, but instead of falling like she thought she would, she was still up. Rather, she was being held up.

The clouds the shielded the light of the moon moved out of the wave, illuminating the area around her and she saw who was holding her up. "Hey there."

"X-Xiang…y-you, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here waiting for you. I knew you'd figure out that message."

"B-but how did you even get that into my house?"

"You gave me a spare key remember? But I didn't get here myself; Yao-ge helped me here. I did the rest."

"Oh… Xiang I wanted to tell you I'm sorry. I was wrong, I-I really do love you but I allowed my doubt to control me…"

"It's alright, I love you too."

"Xiang, can you…"

"Forgive you?" he finished. "Do you even have to ask?"

Mei leaned into his chest, as she smiled softly. "Thank you. I made a terrible mistake."

"We all do. But you being able to move past it is what makes it worthwhile. Has your doubt been answered?"

Mei thought about it. The letter and Xiang did come back despite how she was. "It has."

"That's good." He held her firmly, as he leaned his head onto hers.

"Wait, you came here despite being in that condition of yours?"

"If it's for you, then I would do it a thousand times over."

Mei looked up to him. "You really don't have to. Because I would meet with you to that halfway point."

"Hmm, then will you meet me halfway right now?" He asked, leaning a bit forward.

"Of course I will." She then leaned forward herself and pressed her lips against his. He slowly wrapped his arms around her waist as she draped her arms over his shoulders. The kiss wasn't deep but it sent their message to the other. Slowly and reluctantly, they pulled away from each other but they were both smiling.

"Do you want to stay over?" she asked.

"Thanks, I would love to." She nodded and took his hand as they went back to her house.

They entered the home but both felt extremely tired after such a long and stressful day. They went into the bed room, both plopping down onto the bed. Mei pulled the sheets over them and Xiang slowly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. She blushed slightly but smiled as she snuggled into his chest.

"Good night, I love you so much."

Xiang leaned forward slightly, gently kissing her forehead. "Good night, I love you too."

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya

A/N: That made me sad to write at first but I'm glad it's a happy ending for the both of them. I based this off of my group's rp where I wondered what would happen if Mei went with that doubt of hers. And created this one-shot. So how was it? Good, bad? Let me know so I don't make the same mistakes twice and let me know you guys liked it. Reviews are greatly appreciated and thank you to you readers.


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